Clark County School District is the fifth largest in the
nation, but it’s the largest in terms of district-owned and operated school buses. Besides Las Vegas, which is incorporated into three cities—Henderson, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas—Clark County encompasses the entire southern tip of Nevada. This includes the towns of Laughlin, Mesquite, Overton, Indian Springs, and Sandy Valley. The district operates five transportation facilities and parks some school buses at rural school sites. Vobis’ office is located at the Wallace Transportation Fa-
cility in Henderson. It is also the location of the centralized training department, but all facilities have their own vehicle maintenance services and a site administrator. In addition to the district being so expansive, it must also compete with a driving pool that includes downtown hotels and several of the largest taxi companies in the nation. Plus, as Vobis was taking the executive director position, students were just returning to in-person classes, which further complicated the situation. “My goal, my initiative is to leave things better than I
found them,” she said. “I was lucky, Shannon [Evans] was a great director. But unfortunately with COVID-19, going into shutdown and coming back, that was one of the biggest challenges.” Aside from complying with COVID-19 restrictions
and regulations, the pandemic exacerbated bus driver shortages.
“We were not the only ones experiencing workforce
issues, but we felt it probably at a higher level because students needed to be transported to school,” she said, noting 250 driver vacancies at the time. “We knew that competitive wages were an issue for us. We live in a town where if you have a CDL you can be a limo driver, you can be valet, or work for a charter company and do tours, or you can work for public transit. And you can make money because not only are you making your hourly wages, but you can make money through tips, and you can have 12-month employment. And even Uber and Lyft in this town is a big industry here.” She said her goal was to find ways to remain com-
petitive. “I consider myself very lucky, I have the support of the
superintendent and the COO,” she continued, adding that the school district leadership understands the im- portance of transportation and was willing to invest in it. Due to her perseverance, she was able to reclassi-
fy employees. What was once an introductory rate of around $15 an hour rose to a starting salary of about $22.74 for general education school bus drivers. Those who drive special education routes now receive $23.88 because of additional training in student management. Rideout added that that the increase in pay has
brought in higher caliber applicants. “You have folks that will stay in jobs because they like them, and it’s
Jennifer Vobis and her management team review footage from live-view camera systems on school buses.
48 School Transportation News • NOVEMBER 2022
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